With its clear azure crater lakes which are surrounded by emerald rainforests and wall to wall colourful hydrangeas, Sete Cidades on the Azores Sao Miguel is one of the most scenic and also one of the most photographed places on the west side of the island.
Sete Cidades is Portuguese for ‘Seven Lakes’ and while there appears to be two main ‘twin’ lakes, known as the blue lagoon and the green lagoon, technically this is a single lake which is split in the middle by a bridge. And there happens to be a local legend!
It is said that a blue eyed princess once fell in love with a green eyed shepherd but sadly when the King forbade their romance, they cried so many tears that they turned each half of the lake blue and half green respectively.
The real reason for the green and blue colours is that the green lake reflects the dense tropical rain forest which surrounds it whereas on a sunny day, with less foliage the blue lake reflects the sky.
Unfortunately we woke up to heavy rain for our planned 12 mile Sete Cidades hike. As the forecast looked better for the afternoon we reduced our route by half and decided on a morning bakery visit instead.
About 500 m from our holiday house we discovered a hidden gem! A wonderful characterful bakery and a perfect late start to our day. We enjoyed organic coffee with a lemon tart in the cosy environment of a historic building. The lemon tarts were so good we ordered a sandwich to take with us for the hike.
By now the sun was shining and armed with a generous chunk of freshly baked focaccia filled with sun dried tomatoes and cream cheese, the 6 of us drove for 45 minutes towards Sete Cidades.
The sun hadn’t quite reached Sete Cidades and on this, the west side of the island it was still cloudy and drizzly.
Car parks are free in the Azores and people leave their cars in random little parking areas. We found a small parking field in Sete Cidades, put on our waterproofs and set off through the village to begin our hike. Green Lagoon should be re-named ‘Grey Lagoon’ on this occasion!
By the time we had reached the lake, the rain had stopped and it was warm and humid so we removed our waterproofs! The hike then began with a steep ascent up through lush sub tropical foliage.
Sete Cidades is situated in a huge volcano crater. As the original plan was for a 12 mile hike, circumnavigating both the blue lake and the green lake, instead we just walked around the green lake.
We continued climbing up and up…
Drizzle began again as we climbed higher into the clouds.
The rain got heavier and we sheltered under some trees for another memorable lunch as we munched on the tasty doorstop focaccia sandwiches.
With such a misty walk after lunch was the first real view of both parts of the lake.
The rain had stopped in the afternoon and the views opened up.
The rainforest became dense in places!
We completed our circumnavigation and descended back down to the village. With over 500 m of total ascent and about 6.5 miles this was a reasonably tough but most enjoyable hike.
We stopped in Sete Cidades village and sat in the courtyard of a bar for a post-walk drink before driving back to the house.
As we began our drive back to the holiday house we stopped just before Mirador do Cerrado das Freiras which overlooked Lagoa de Santiago, another crater lake.
And a bit further along we saw Sete Cidades Blue Lake at the proper Mirador stop we could see the Blue Lake.
That evening Mike & Flo stayed in the house and cooked their dinner while Chris and I set off with Russell & Roza in search of the Sunset Beach bar which was a 15 minute walk from the holiday house.
They had a wide selection of well known classic cocktails for around €7 each but Roza, Chris and I decided to share a large jug of refreshing sangria.
I was pleased to have made a good choice for my meal. This delightful dish was served with about 12 huge (de-shelled) prawns, big pasta and was cooked in a lovely olive oil peppery sauce for the wallet friendly price of just €9.80 (about £8.50). Chris wasn’t so keen on the spinach croquettes, salad and fries that he had ordered.
Summary
Trekking through stunning scenery which was topped and tailed by amazing food and a wonderful sunset, this was one of my favourite days of the trip. Again reminding me that a good day doesn’t have to depend on sunny weather!
frombluetogreen.com 
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